MITA
Our Vision:
continued from cover
Medical imaging drives effective
patient care through screening,
diagnosis, and treatment.
The MRI that Saved My Life
I grew up in Massachusetts, where I first started
riding bikes with my friends. We used bikes for
more than just transportation, and soon I was
learning how to do jumps and other tricks. By the
time I was 17 years old, I had grown comfortable
doing backflips out of quarter pipes and over-box
jumps. I needed to be closer to the best riders to
continue to progress in the sport, so I relocated to
Greenville, North Carolina, where I had access to
the best BMX training facilities.
The MRI results showed one benign meningioma
tumor taking up the entire left portion of my
brain. Bingo! Now I knew why I was getting
those headaches. Upon receiving the diagnosis, I
was afraid. The doctors explained to me that if I
wanted to live, I would have to undergo surgery.
Later, I would find out that if I had been given
an MRI a year earlier, my doctors could have
performed gamma knife radio surgery instead of a
much more invasive surgery.
I had surgery on April 16, 2010. The procedure that
was supposed to last 4.5 hours actually lasted for six
because the tumor was located near a main artery
and my optic nerve, in the area that controls motor
skills. Fortunately, the surgeon did a superb job.
To this day, medical imaging remains essential to
my quality of life.
No matter how good you are, you always fall. At
17, you can bounce back from a fall that would
take you out for weeks at age 37. Constantly being
plagued by minor injuries forces you to learn to be
in touch with your body-for example, knowing
whether you have to favor one leg over the other
to absorb the impact of a jump. When I started
having migraines, it was only natural that I would
attribute them to riding However, I didn't know
how to compensate for this degree of pain.
In October 2009, the headaches became severe. I
am not a medical professional, but I had done some
research and decided I would need an MRI or a
computed tomography (CT) scan to determine the
cause of my headaches. Unfortunately, the doctors
told me multiple times that I did not need a scan
and gave me pain killers instead. I knew they were
merely a mask and that my body couldn't handle
the drugs, so I never took them.
I had to take many days off because of the pain,
but I never stopped riding. That all changed in
March 2010, when I hit my head and was knocked
unconscious. It turns out that I really did need an
MRI, which I finally got, only much later than I
wanted it.
Six months after the initial surgery, an MRI
showed that two areas of tumor had started
growing back. In November 2012, I underwent
gamma knife radio surgery. Six months after
that, another MRI showed that the tumors were
stable. In November 2013, an MRI showed that
one of the tumors was slightly decreasing in size,
and by October of the following year, both were
shrinking. Today, I continue to live with two
brain tumors and undergo annual scans; most
important, I feel good and am back on my bike.
People often ask me whether being diagnosed with
brain tumors is the worst thing that has happened
in my life. It was certainly one of the most
shocking and scary experiences, but not the worst.
To the contrary, in some ways it was one of the best
things that could have happened to me because it
taught me to be more in tune with my body. As a
result, I am now healthier than I have ever been. I
just wish I'd had a scan earlier.
Josh Perry,
Pro BMX Rider
Photography by
Rob Darden
Early detection is
essential to preventing
diseases from
progressing and
maximizing treatment
options. Today, countless
lives are saved thanks to
early detection through
advanced imaging.
To learn more on how
early detection saves
lives, visit
www.medicalimaging.
org/imagingforward/
early-detection.
At the time of my diagnosis, I appeared to be
the pinnacle of health and wellness, but medical
imaging helped my doctors detect the invisible.
Thanks to the benefits of medical innovation, I
have a new lease on life and am able to compete
at the highest level in my sport. People should not
have to face a catastrophe to get the right scan at
the right time. ei
MITA
3
www.nema.org * November 2016

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